|
ANA OLOS
North University, Baia Mare
Abstract
Considering A Word Child the essential Murdoch novel, the
author of the present essay proposes a new approach, based upon
the comparison with Kipling’s The Jungle Books and Kim. Instead
of following current interpretations concerned with the “story,”
the argumentation is built around two apparently opposed
concepts, Kipling’s “man cub” and Murdoch’s “word child,” which
the latter hyphenates in order to make man’s dual nature
contained in them even more evident. This reveals a deeper level
of the book and the hidden thematic layers, suggesting that Iris
Murdoch has fictionalized both analytic philosophy and her own
moral philosophy in an exemplary character and a double plot
showing his moral progress due to different forms of education.
The message that the novel conveys is ultimately that it is not
enough to say the word or show love: the absolution of sins and
salvation can be achieved only by a spiritual, selfless love.
Keywords: Iris Murdoch, philosophy, dualism, education,
morality, love, sin, salvation, selflessness
|
